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Z for Zachariah pictures the end of mankind. This lesser-known film stars Margot Robbie, Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor as the last three survivors of an apocalyptic event. Robbie plays Ann, a faithful Christian woman, whose survival might have been pure luck, while Pine's character is a ragged coal miner, who's cunning and hard to trust. Ejiofor takes the titular role of John Loomis, aka Zachariah, as the last man. Z for Zachariah parallels Adam and Eve's story in the Garden of Eden. While Adam and Eve mark the start of mankind, Loomis and Ann are how it ends.

The title of Z for Zachariah plays on the idea that if A is for Adam (the first man), Z would be for Zachariah (the last man on earth). The film is loosely based on Robert C. O'Brien's science fiction novel of the same name, though the plot of...

In March 2022, Craig Zobel returned home from seeing Matt Reeves’ The Batman during its opening weekend, and he immediately emailed the filmmaker to express his admiration for the superhero crime drama. Mind you, the Emmy-nominated director behind 2021’s Mare of Easttown and 2020’s controversial horror satire The Hunt didn’t know Reeves in the slightest, but this type of gesture is fairly common in the entertainment industry. (Margot Robbie, who starred in Zobel’s Z for Zachariah, initiated her casting in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by writing her own fan letter to Quentin Tarantino.)

So when it came time to hire directors for Reeves and showrunner Lauren LeFranc’s The Batman spinoff series, The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb, Zobel likes to think that Reeves potentially took note of that email before blessing his hiring as director and executive producer.

“I happened to have his email.

The western genre has long dominated pop culture, particularly when it comes to the film industry. Classical westerns will always carry a special torch as the first to enrapture audiences, but the genre as a whole has shifted and incorporated no small number of outside influences into itself.

In turn, a plethora of genre-bending westerns have entered the annals of pop culture across a variety of media. Unsurprisingly, the most popular form for these boundary-pushing productions to take has largely been live-action motion pictures. Numerous television series and feature films introduce audiences to the kinds of westerns that might have been all but unfathomable prior to their debut. Naturally, not every cross genre western can be a hit, although that doesn't mean that the cult classics among them are any less deserving of recognition.

Related 10 Greatest Western Movie Directors Sergio Leone and John Ford are not the only legendary directors...

Christina Hendricks of the TV shows Mad Men and Good Girls has signed on to star in the psychological thriller Reckoner, Deadline reports. Based on a short story by author Rachel Ingalls, Reckoner will mark the feature directorial debut of Nissar Modi, who previously wrote the 2013 horror film Breaking at the Edge and the 2015 sci-fi film Z for Zachariah.

The story of Reckoner centers on an affluent woman whose carefully constructed life is disrupted by a young man connected to a tightly-held secret from her past. I’m not familiar with the source material, but the story sounds interesting to me, and Christina Hendricks is always a good addition to a cast.

The film is being produced by XYZ Films and Two & Two Pictures, with XYZ Films providing the financing. The company will be presenting the project to potential distributors at the Cannes Film Festival, and Deadline notes that...

Christina Hendricks has signed on to lead the psychological thriller Reckoner, written and directed by Nissar Modi (Z for Zachariah) in his feature directorial debut.

The pic is based on a short story by American author Rachel Ingalls and will be produced by XYZ Films and Two & Two Pictures, with XYZ financing. XYZ Films has also added the thriller to its freshly launched, internationally focused ‘New Visions’ slate, with world sales launching at Cannes.

The plot will follow an affluent woman whose carefully constructed life is disrupted by a young man connected to a tightly-held secret from her past.

Reckoner falls under Two & Two and XYZ’s production pact to produce films from first and second-time genre filmmakers from underrepresented demographics. The two companies previously collaborated on Babak Anvari’s pics Under The Shadow, I Came By, and the upcoming History Of Evil, written and directed by Bo Mirhosseni.

Exclusive: Alcon Entertainment has appointed former MGM executive Steven Johnson as EVP, Head of Physical Production.

Johnson comes to Alcon following two and a half years at MGM International Television, where he served as Senior Vice President of Physical Production. He will now oversee physical production for all Alcon projects across film, TV and documentary, including the Prime Video limited series Blade Runner 2099 under showrunner Silka Luisa, the animated feature Garfield starring Chris Pratt and Samuel L. Jackson for Sony Pictures, Denis Villeneuve’s feature Rendezvous With Rama, based on the classic Arthur C. Clarke novel, and its upcoming docuseries on legendary basketball coach John Thompson.

“Steven’s unique experience across all sectors of production over the past 20+ years gives him tremendous perspective and expertise and we look forward to him bringing his vast experience to Alcon,” said the company’s co-founders and co-CEOs, Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove.

Universal Pictures has pulled their new thriller The Hunt off of the release schedule due to the mass shootings that have been taking place around the country as well as political controversy. Universal released the following statement:

“While Universal Pictures had already paused the marketing campaign for The Hunt, after thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release the film. We stand by our filmmakers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film.”

The film tells the story of twelve strangers who are kidnapped from conservative red states. They are referred to as “deplorables” and they are put in a forest and hunted down by rich liberals like wild game. The movie is suppose to be satirical, but Fox News...

Super rich people can pretty much get away with anything they want. This upcoming film, The Hunt, which must’ve been inspired by The Most Dangerous Game, tells the story of twelve strangers who are kidnapped, put in a forest and hunted down by rich people like wild game.

The movie comes from writer Damon Lindelof and director Craig Zobel and it looks like it could be an entertaining flick! The Hunt was produced by Blumhouse Pictures and this is the synopsis that was released:

Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don’t know where they are, or how they got there. They don’t know they’ve been chosen… for a very specific purpose … The Hunt.

In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, a group of globalist elites gathers for the very first time at a remote Manor House to hunt humans for sport. But...

Universal Pictures has released the first trailer for their upcoming survival thriller called The Hunt. The film is described as a mysterious social thriller and the story centers around twelve strangers who wake up in a clearing not knowing where they are or how they got there. What they don’t know is that they have been chosen to be hunted down and killed like wild game.

The movie actually looks like a lot of fun. It come from writer Damon Lindelof and director Craig Zobel. The Hunt was produced by Blumhouse Pictures and this is the synopsis that was released:

In the shadow of a dark internet conspiracy theory, a group of globalist elites gathers for the very first time at a remote Manor House to hunt humans for sport. But the elites’ master plan is about to be derailed because one of the hunted, Crystal, knows The Hunters’ game better than they do.

Gas-s-s-s – Or – It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.

Blu-ray

Olive Films

1970 / Color / 1:85 widescreen/ 79 min. / Street Date October 18, 2016 / Gas-s-s-s / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98

Starring: Elaine Giftos, Robert Corff, Cindy Williams, Bud Cort, Ben Vereen, Tally Coppola, Lou Procopio.

Cinematography: Ron Dexter

Film Editor: George Van Noy

Original Music: Country Joe and the Fish

Written and Produced by George Armitage

Directed by Roger Corman

Roger Corman finally accepted himself as an iconic filmmaker for this, his final show for A.I.P.. Barely released and long considered a failure, Gas-s-s-s – Or – It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It sees Corman and his writer associate George Armitage attempting a Mad magazine- like amalgam of all the counterculture trends of the late 1960s. That tactical mistake becomes eighty minutes of unfocused and unfunny satire. Armitage’s script and dialogue might occasionally hit some serendipitous notes,...

“Dead Man’s Burden” premiered at the L.A Film Fest to excellent reviews and and plaudits for first time director Jared Moshé and his cast: Clare Bowen as the fierce Martha, David Call as her husband Heck, and Barlow Jacobs as her long lost brother Wade. Our review said the film “is worth the watch for its sheer beauty, but it’s also a slow burner of Western tragedy that hails many new talents to keep an eye on.” It’s a slice of filmmaking that harkens back to cinema’s past, and reminds you why shooting on film needs to be preserved. We sat down with Moshé, Bowen, Call and Jacobs last week to talk favorite Westerns, shooting in New Mexico and historical authenticity. Here are some of the highlights and insights from the wide-ranging conversations below.

Shooting on 35 mm was never in question for this low budget indie.